Cyber Monday sales up by nearly a third on 2012

Online sales on Cyber Monday surged by 31.6 per cent compared to the same time last year as shoppers took advantage of discounted deals.

Despite millions of people not being able to pay for items due an RBS/Natwest tech meltdown on Monday, the figures showed the popularity of shopping through tablets and smartphones is continuing to grow.

The data, from the IMB Digital Analytics Benchmark, found that mobile traffic grew to 44.3 per cent of all online traffic, an increase of 67 per cent from last year. Sales completed via mobile devices were also strong, growing 94.3 per cent year over year, and exceeding 33 per cent of total online sales.

According to the figures, Samsung mobile users spent the most on the busiest shopping day of the year so far.

Chris Withers, head of Smarter Commerce for retail, Europe, IBM said: “With Samsung now topping average order value (AOV) for Cyber Monday in 2013, we can see how Samsung’s devices now appeal to a more affluent demographic, whilst the launch of the latest iPhone may be increasing their penetration in the broader consumer market for smartphones and tablets.”

The figures come as Amazon reported 4.1m sales were made on its website on Amazon which works out as 47 items a second. Tech firm Postcode Anywhere also said that nearly 6m delivery addresses were captured on its online data platform – a 90 per cent uplift on last year.

Social media continued to play an important part – shoppers referred from Facebook average £44.15 per order versus £59.59 for Pinterest referalls. However, Facebook referrals converted sales at over two times the rate of Pinterest referrals.

Source : Michael Somerville - Retail Gazette
www.retailgazette.co.uk/articles/03034-cyber-monday-sales-surge-316-on-2012